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A Los Angeles woman was arrested for allegedly scamming an elderly woman worth thousands of dollars through elaborate schemes.
The suspect was identified as 34-year-old Kaihong Rey, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
On August 4, the victim, a 77-year-old woman from Goleta, received a call from a suspect who pretended to be an Amazon employee. She mistakenly spoke about fraudulent accusations on her account and the manufactured bank account of a bank account opened in her name, detectives said.
The phone was transferred to a fake Federal Trade Commission (FTC) agent, instructing the victim to withdraw $30,000 in cash from their bank account to “solve” the issue.
“The fraudster guided her on manufacturing stories to avoid bank suspicion, and left on the line during her withdrawal at two Bank of America branches, demanding photos of the sealed box containing cash, receipts, herself and money,” court documents say.
The victim became suspicious after realising the mistake through an email from a fake agent, so she contacted the deputy while still on the phone with the scammer.
Kaihong Rei, 34, can be seen in Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office reservation photos.
Authorities arrived at the victim’s home and reportedly found a female suspect remaining near the home when they collected the cash box.
As she walked towards her car, she was soon arrested by her deputies and booked at the Santa Barbara County Jail for grand theft by false pretenses and conspiracy to commit fraud. She is being held on $500,000 bail.
Earlier that day, lawmakers received reports of two other similar frauds. There, the suspect escaped for $40,000 in Goleta and $45,000 in Montecito.
“Additional scams between Goleta and Montecito included similar tactics, forcing the victim to pretend to be false and withdraw large sums,” the Sheriff’s Department said. “The Criminal Investigation Bureau is pursuing further leads, including potential connections to organized fraud networks.”
Here are some tips to protect yourself from fraud:
Verify your bill independently – do not involve unsolicited calls regarding account issues. Please hang up and contact your company or agent directly using your official number from the website. Legal organizations such as Amazon and FTC do not require cash withdrawals or personal photos to be protected. Protect your personal information. Reporting suspicious activity to a bank will quickly recognize the red flag – poor grammar, mistakes, or requests for unusual behavior (such as story manufacturing) will report suspicious activity with common fraud indicators – if you suspect fraud, call your local law enforcement. In an emergency, text 911 cannot be dialed or text 911
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